Bagels (Hand Made)

July 28, 2008

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

* about 3 cups of flour, preferably whole wheat bread flour
* 1 tablespoon of yeast
* 1 1/4 cup water
* salt

Directions:

Mix yeast and 1 1/3 cups of flour in a
bowl. Heat water (with maybe 1 teaspoon of
salt) until warm to touch. Combine
water with flour/yeast and mix. Once
it is even, start kneading with your
hands, combining with the other 1/2
cup of flour. continue kneading for
about 10 minutes. The dough should be
a tiny bit sticky.

Roll into a cylinder and cut into 8 equal pieces.
Take one piece at a time and roll into
into a ball, then, pushing with your
fingers in the center, into the “O”
shape of a bagel (if it is not an “O”
shape, it will collapse when baked).

Place on a floured baking sheet. Let
rise for 20-30 minutes, then flip them
over and let rise for another 20-30
minutes. Bring a large pot of water to
a boil (add about a tablespoon of salt) and
boil each bagel for 2 minutes, flip
and boil for another 2 minutes, then
place back on the floured pan. Once all
are boiled, bake for 25-30 minutes at
375 degrees F.

Whole Wheat Bread Flour works the
best, for me. I have also used regular
Bread Flour with good results, and a
mix of regular Bread Flour with Whole
Wheat Flour. All have turned out
nicely (except the time I didn’t make
them into an “O”!)

Serves: 8